The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis S. Collins A scientist gives his reasons for believing in God and in evolution. This book was the first that helped relieve me of some extremely intense cognitive dissonance. Highly recommended if you are struggling with this topic. |
The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett Such an interesting story! Both my husband and my preteen daughter thought so, too. This might even make a good family Read Aloud for teens. |
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown Helpful book about vulnerability – not the most comfortable topic but well worth reading! |
Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henry J.M. Nouwen A simple yet beautiful book, the first I’ve read by this author. I loved his humility. Though it is a different genre, this book reminded me of the book Gilead by Marilynn Robinson. Both are from the perspective of an elderly spiritual father speaking of the deepest truths he has learned during his life. Both made me feel like I just wanted to curl up and listen, learn, and soak in the wisdom. Beautiful writing, beautiful thoughts in both books. |
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Ethics: A History Of Moral Thought by Peter Kreeft This is an excellent, succinct, clear introduction to the history of ethics. Highly recommended for anyone interested in both history and philosophy. I found it helpful during my first time listening through these lectures to listen to each one twice before going on. I was very new to studying philosophy and needed the extra time to sort through everything. In my second time listening through I’m enjoying it even more than the first time. Perfect to listen to while exercising! |
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How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture by Francis A. Schaeffer This is a “framework” book. It gives a lens, model, framework with which to view past, present, and future within the western world. It is clear enough that I will most likely have each of my children read it in the last year or two of high school. I feel like my eyes were opened and I have a greater understanding of the world I live in. I love books that do that! I have a feeling that when I reread this book in the future I’ll find things to disagree with (I’m unsure about his analysis of the medievals and Thomas Aquinas as well as Soren Kierkegaard.) But this first read through was very helpful! |
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For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay A “must read” for every Christian parent, no matter where your children go to school. This will give you a vision for what a good education and a good childhood can and should look like. |
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How to Survive the Apocalypse: Zombies, Cylons, Faith, and Politics at the End of the World by Robert J. Joustra, Alissa Wilkinson 4.5 stars. Excellent introduction to the works of Charles Taylor (A Secular Age, The Malaise of Modernity), James K.A. Smith, and others as they relate to the apocalyptic and dystopian stories we find in current media. I haven’t seen or read the media mentioned but was still able to follow the authors’ points. This is a more academic book than the title would lead you to believe. |
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Teaching From Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakeable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie This is a yearly read for me now. Any time I feel anxious about homeschooling I listen to this book and get peace back again. Highly recommended! |
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Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition by Karen Glass Favorite homeschooling book of 2017. I am in love with the idea of a synthetic approach to knowledge. This is also an excellent resource to show where the classical and Charlotte Mason methods overlap and work together. I’ve always been drawn to both but never could fully commit to either (especially since what I thought was Classical was actually neo-Classical and didn’t have the *heart* in it that CM seemed to have). This is an excellent resource for those interested in both methods. It may have won for most Commonplace passages this year! |
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How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor by James K.A. Smith Click here to read my full review of this book! |
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Gilead by Marilynne Robinson John Ames is now one of my favorite literary characters. I kept thinking as I read that I wish he were a real person that I could get to know. He is just so GOOD – but not perfect, which makes him even more likable. I love his love for his family, his sincerity, his love for God, and his quest to live rightly. He reminds me of my husband in some ways which may be why I like him so much!This is a quiet, gentle, thoughtful book. My favorite of the series. |
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How Do We Know?: An Introduction to Epistemology by Mark W. Foreman One of my favorite reads of 2017. I wish there were more popular level books available about epistemology (how we know what we know). This was an excellent introduction although probably too academic for the average reader to pick up. It was exactly what I needed to read, though. I practically underlined the whole book! |
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The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien I liked this book, but my favorite part was the introduction where he writes about the intersection of philosophy and literature. Really good stuff!A few Commonplace entries:“Philosophy and literature belong together. They can work like the two lenses of a pair of binoculars. Philosophy argues abstractly. Literature argues too – it persuaded, it changes the reader – but concretely. Philosophy says truth, literature shows truth.”“Literature not only incarnates philosophy; it also tests it by verifying of falsifying it. One way literature tests philosophy is by putting different philosophies into the laboratory of life, incarnating them in different characters and then seeing what happens. Life does exactly the same thing. Literature also tests philosophy in a more fundamental way. It can be expressed by this rule: a philosophy that cannot be translated into a good story cannot be a good philosophy.” |
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The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams Well, if I wasn’t convinced before I firmly am now that I need copious amounts of time in nature for my mental health. When the Covid-19 crisis hit, I began spending several hours outside every day in my hammock by the water and trees or swimming. It helped ground, center and calm me. This book helps explain the scientific research happening to confirm and explain this type of phenomenon.I had my 16 year old read this. She’s not a nature person, but I wanted her to at least know how good it is for us humans. This is a great book for teens with a logical, analytical bent. Lots of stats thrown in amidst the narrative. FYI, there is swearing throughout the book, including the f-word. One mention of sex. Mild stuff compared to what most teens are exposed to. I think it’s a great book for 14+. |
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Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. Essential reading for everyone. This will probably land in the list of my top ten favorite/most influential books because of its ability to reshape and organize how I view the world. This is the kind of book that helps me breathe a sigh of relief internally because it tames the chaos by bringing understanding. It’s not that any problems are solved, necessarily, but at least I can know what I’m looking at now. That is a step toward a solution. |
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84, Charring Cross Road by Helene Hanff Short and sweet. Unexpectedly delightful. The perfect feel-good read during difficult times. I even teared up at the end. I didn’t realize until halfway through that this was not fiction! That made it even better! |
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The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis Read along with the Literary Life Podcast. Excellent. |
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Poetic Knowledge by James S. Taylor Click here to read my full review of this book! |
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The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn Click here to read my full review of this book! |
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Grammar Island by Michael Clay Thompson Click here to read my full review of this book! |